Modern Political Campaigns

Dr. Michael D. Cohen, a 30+ year veteran of working on, teaching, and writing about political campaigns shows readers how campaigns are organized, explains state-of-the-art tools of the trade, and reveals how some of the most interesting people in politics got their big breaks. He combines academic insights and practical advice that will be of interest to practitioners and students considering careers in politics, and people interested in how elections are won. The second edition, updated to include a new chapter on how campaigns are using artificial intelligence and what that means for democracy, has been completely revised throughout to provide readers with an up-to-date understanding of how candidates succeed.

MICHAEL D. COHEN, Ph.D. is CEO of Cohen Research Group, a political, public affairs, and corporate research firm. He publishes the award-winning Congress in Your Pocket suite of mobile apps and teaches college courses on political campaigns, research methods, digital strategy, and public policy in Washington, DC.

Contents
Preface
Introduction
1. Parties and Elections
From Bosses to Consultants
Voter Affiliation
Parties As Campaign-Adjunct Organizations
Democratizing the Vote
Elections
Rules
Assignment
Sources and Further Reading
2. Planning and Management
Start with Why
Can You Win?
Do Campaigns Matter?
Plan Design
Consultant Story
Assignment
Sources and Further Reading
3. Fundraising
Who Donates to Campaigns?
Basic Rules
High-Dollar Fundraising
Low-Dollar Fundraising
Online Platforms
Assignment
Sources and Further Reading
4. Independent Groups
Loss of Control
Change in Money Flow
Types of Independent Groups
Expansion of PACs
Independent Expenditure
Donations to Candidates
Dark Money
Consultant Story
Assignment
Sources and Further Reading
5. Vulnerability and Opposition Research
Negative Information
The Toughest Questions
Opponent Framing
Research Director
Research Strategy
Desktop Research
Field Research
Organization and Analysis
Deployment
Limits
Consultant Story
Assignment
Sources and Further Reading
6. Data and Analytics
The Voter File
Identifying Winnable Voters
Calculating Vote Totals
Modeling Vote Totals
Consultant Story
Assignment
Sources and Further Reading
7. Focus Groups and Polling
Focus Groups
Polling
Tools
Digital Research
Assignment
Sources and Further Reading
8. Earned Media
Tools
Consultant Story
Assignment
Sources and Further Reading
9. Paid Media
Definition
Consultant Story
Assignment
Sources and Further Reading
10. Social Media
Definition
Tools
Consultant Story
Assignment
Sources and Further Reading
11. Field Operations
Definition
Tools
Get Out the Vote
Consultant Story
Assignment
Sources and Further Reading
12. Artificial Intelligence
Definition
Tools
Ethical Considerations
Consultant Story
Assignment
Sources and Further Reading
13. The New Permanent Campaign
Campaign Strategy Gets Personal
Voter Polarization Increases
Tactics Go Digital
The Parties Invest
Campaigns Between Elections
The Future of Modern Political Campaigns
Sources and Further Reading
Afterword
Acknowledgements
Appendix
Index
About the Author